Mechanical safety pile monkey

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed herein a pile driver apparatus having a lead supporting said pile driver, and means mounting a pair of laterally closing jaws for sliding movement along the lead below the pile driver. The jaws close around the lower end of an undriven pile and upon upward movement thereof, the jaws slide with respect to the pile and pull the pile into alignment with the pile driver.

United States Paten [191 Ma cKinnon [111' 3,827,508 Aug. 6, 1974MECHANICAL SAFETY PILE MONKEY [75] Inventor: Alan G. MacKinnon,

Newcomerstown, Ohio [22] Filed: Jan. 5, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 321,527 A[52] US. Cl 173/112, 61/535, 175/85,

3,450,274 6/1969 Johansson 173/86 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS1,418,798 2/1964 France l73/43 Primary Examiner-Henry C. SutherlandAssistant Examiner-William F. Pate, Ill

[ 5 7] ABSTRACT 308/3 9 There is disclosed herein a pile driverapparatus hav- [51] Int Cl E02! 7/0'2 ing a lead supporting said piledriver, and means [58] Field 85 86 mounting 'a pair of laterally closingjaws for sliding 173/31. 61/46 5 7 f movement along the lead below thepile driver. The 24/263 jaws close around the lower end of an undrivenpile and upon upward movement thereof, the jaws slide [56] ReferencesCited with respect to the pile and pull the pile into alignment with thepile driver. UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,134,989 I l/1938 Templeton 173/22 X11 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures A 23 22 .5. x I I l g J 7 5 I 2 I I L l lill! a 60 l 2e emf \"lV' l I (Elli/ 1 MECHANICAL SAFETY PILE MONKEY Thisinvention refers to pile driving apparatus and particularly to a guidingdevice for aligning a pile with a pile driver and holding the pile inalignment while it is being driven.

In setting a pile preparatory to the driving operation, the pile isususally suspended by a cable from the top of the lead whereby the lowerend of the pile can be readily manipulated to the desired location. Theupper end of the pile is disposed below the pile driver, but at thispoint the pile is seldom in alignment with the hammer. Therefore, it isnecessary for a man to climb the lead and pull the upper end of the pileunder the pile driver and then climb back down before starting thedriving operation. The leads and piles are often of such length as torequire as much as a IOO-foot climb with the obvious attendant danger tothe workman.

The present invention is directed to mechanical means for aligning. thepile with the pile driver thereby obviating the dangerous climb by aworkman and reducing the time taken to set the pile. A mechanical pilegripping means, known as'a pile monkey, is slidably mounted on the leadand, in turn, slidably grips a lower end portion of a loose suspendedpile. The pile monkey is then moved upwardly along the lead, meanwhilesliding with respect to the pile, whereby the pile is progressivelypulled in under the pile driver. The monkey can then be positioned atany point along the pile to reduce whip or lateral buckling andgenerally stabilize the pile and insure positive alignment with the piledriver duringthe driving operation.

In view of the foregoing, it is the general object of this invention toprovide a pile guiding device for aligning the undriven pile with a piledriver preparatory to the driving operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the pile canbe aligned with the pile driver in complete safety.

Still another object of the invention is to provide means obviating theneed for a workman to climb a lead and manually align the pile with thepile driver.

Yet another object of the invention is to. provide means for aligningthe pile with the 'pile driver which results in substantial savings oftime.

A further object of the invention is to provide aligning means as setforth above which assures positive alignment between the pile and thepile driver at all times.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for bothinitially aligning the pile with the pile driver and stabilizing thepile during the driving thereof.

Other objects of the invention and the invention itself will be readilyunderstood from the following description thereof and the accompanyingdrawings, in which said drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a portable crane having pile driverapparatus carried thereby, including the mechanical pile monkey of thisinvention, the same being shown in the driving stage;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged transverse section taken along the line 2--2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged transverse section taken along the line 3-3 ofFIG. 1 showing a top view of the pile monkey of this invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevational detail of the pile monkey;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevational detail of the pile monkey;

FIG. 6 is a simplified side elevation of the pile driver apparatus shownin FIG. 1, the pile monkey and pile being shown in the hookup stagebefore th pile is aligned with the pile driver; an

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing the pile monkey and pile inthe set stage prior to driving the pile.

Referring now to the drawings in all of which like parts are designatedby like reference numerals, FIG. 1 shows a portable crane 10 comprisinga tractor portion 11 upon which is mounted the usual control cab 12,said control cab being mounted upon a turntable 13. A forwardly andupwardly projecting boom 14 is pivotally mounted to the control cab 12by means of a pivot 15 and carries a slide member 16 at the forwardlyand upwardly projected end thereof. The lower end of the boom 14adjacent to the cab 12 carries a kicker 17 which projects forwardly andcarries a slide member 18 on the forwardly projecting end thereof.

The slide members 16 and 18 engage aux-upright, skeletal lead 20 havingan earth penetrating lower foot section 21 and an upper head block 22having pulley means 23. As shown in FIG. 2, the lead 20 comprises frontcorner frame members 24 and'relatively more widely laterally spaced rearcorner frame members 25, the corner frame members as herein disclosedcomprising rectangular tubing. The front and rear corner frame membersare connected together in any suitable manner by horizontal andangledbrace members 26.'Although the lead 20 is shown in the verticalposition, it will be understood that it can be operated at varioustilted, generally upright positions.

Again referring to FIG. 2, a pile driver 28 is slidably mounted to thefront corner frame members 24 by slide members 29 having U-shapedgripping portions 30 adapted to engage said front comer frame members.It will be understood that the slide members 16 and 18 at the forwardends of the boom 14 and kicker l7, respectively, are similarly slidablymounted for movement with respect to the rear corner frame members 25.

The lead 20 is adapted to be moved longitudinally by means of a leadrope 32 which passes from suitable winch means (not herein illustrated)in the cab 12 over a pulley 33 at the forward and upwardly directed endof the boom 14 and then passes downwardly to a pulley 34 carried by thefoot section2l. From the pulley 34, the lead rope 32 extends upwardly toa fixed bracket 35 on the forward end of said boom, an intermediateportion of said lead rope being secured to adjustable cable grips 36carried by the lower slide member 18. Thus, when the lead rope 32 ispulled, the lead 20 will move upwardly and when said lead rope is paidout, said lead will move downwardly.

The pile driver 28 is raised and released to drop downwardly in a knownmanner by means of a pile driver rope 37 which also extends from the cab12 to engage a pulley means 38 carried by the upper slide 16 and thenextends upwardly over the pulley means 23 and downwardly to said piledriver.

The boom 14 is held at any desired angle by a support cable 39 connectedto the upper end of the boom at its forward end and secured to suitable,known adjustable pile. FIG. 1 of the drawings shows a typical pile P Thepile monkey 40 may take various forms and as herein disclosed comprisesa base slide 41 having U- shaped gripping portions 42 slidably engagingthe front corner frame members 24. The front of the base slide 41 isprovided with a centrally located wear plate 41' and laterally disposedpairs of journals 43 and 44 pivotally mounting a pair of laterallyspaced, vertically directed, parallel pivot shafts 45 and 46,respectively.

The pivot shaft 45 carries an L-shaped jaw 47 comprising integral, rightangularly disposed arms 48' and 49. The pivot shaft 46 is similarlyprovided with an L- shape jaw 50 comprising right angularly disposedintegral arms 52 and 53. The distal ends of the arms 48 and 52 aresuitably secured, as by welding, to the pivot shafts 45 and 46,respectively, and the arms 49 and 53 are so angled toward each other asto overlap in front of a pile P which, as shown in FIG. 3, may be of I-section. The L-shaped jaws 47 and 50 may be pivoted to the open positionas shown in broken lines in FIG. 3 to initially receive the pile afterwhich said jaws are pivotedinwardly to the closed position shown in fullline .to slidably engage said pile.

Means are provided for locking the jaws 47 and 50 in the closedposition, the form herein shown comprising a clevis connection betweenthe ends of the arms 49 and 53.

As best seen in FIG. 5, the arm 49 of the jaw 47 is provided with atongue 54 which is adapted to engage a mating slot 55 in a bifurcatedend of the arm 53 of the other L-shaped jaw 50. Aligned apertures 56 and57 (see FIGS. 3 and'4) are provided in the tongue 54 aand bifurcatedend'portion of the arm 53, respectively, in such manner as to receive asuitable pin 58 for securing the jaws in the closed position.

The pile monkey 40 is suspended from and controlled by a monkey rope 60which is secured to the top of the base slide 41 and extends upwardlyover the pulley means 23, downwardly under the pulley means 38, anddownwardly to the cab 12 and the winch means thereof. The monkey rope 60is here shown in double lines and greatly oversize for emphasis due toits importance with respect to the present invention. The pile monkey 40is disposed below the level of the pile driver 28, the monkey cable 60extending downwardly between the slide members 29 which carry said piledriver.

Operation of the mechanical safety pile monkey of this invention is bestunderstood by reference to FIGS. 6, 7, and l in that order. FIG. 6 showsthe first or hookup stage wherein a pile P is raised to an uprightposition by a suitable pile rope 62 attached adjacent to the upper endof the pile whereby the lower end of said pile can be readilymanipulated to a selected spot on the ground. Said pile rope may descendfrom the pulley means 23, as shown, or from any other suitable means.

The pile monkey 40 is lowered to a position adjacent to the lower end ofthe pile P and the jaws 47 and 50 are closed, the pin 58 securing theclevis. At this point, the upper end of the pile P will not normally bein alignment with the pile driver 28 but rather will tilt or sagforwardly or laterally of the pile driver or will tend to lean backagainst the lead 20.

During'the next or set stage, the pile monkey 40 is raised by the monkeyrope 60, the jaws sliding with respect to the pile and progressivelystraightening the pile up to the position shown in FIG. 7 wherein saidpile is in alignment with the pile driver 28. At this point, or at anypoint during the driving of the pile, the pile monkey 40 may be loweredto any position for stabilizing the pile and controlling whip or lateralbuckling thereof during the final driving stage as shown in FIG. 1. FIG.1 shows the pile partially driven into the ground and the pile monkey 40lowered to a medial point for controlling the pile during the remainingpart of the driving stage.

It will be readily appreciated that the present invention eliminates thedangerous task of climbing the lead and that the mechanical pile monkeycan align the pile with the pile driver very rapidly, requiring onlythat it be attached to the bottom of the pile. Further, it will be seenthat once the aligning task is completed, the monkey continues to beuseful throughout the driving stage by stabilizing the pile.

As herein illustrated, the safety pile monkey of this invention is shownapplied to a semifixed lead; that is, one in which the lead is slidablyheld thereby allowing vertical movement thereof and positive control oflateral movement. However, it will bereadily understood that the samecould be applied to a completely fixed lead or to a nonfixed or swinginglead suspended from the end of the boom. Also, the pile monkey shown isprovided with pivoted jaws specifically adapted to slidably engage apile having a generally rectangular effective outer countour. Thus it isparticularly adapted for I-beams, l-I-beams, channel shaped members, boxbeams, and rectangular solid posts. However, it will be readilyappreciated that the invention is not limited to this shape and could bereadily adapted for any suitable shape.

It will be further understood that many changes in the details of theinvention as herein described and illustrated may be made without,however, departing from the spirit thereof or the scope of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated upright lead; a pile driverlongitudinally slidably mounted upon said lead for driving a pile; meansfor placing a pile adjacent to said lead in a generally upright positionwhereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at a selected spotadjacent to the bottom of said lead; a pile guiding device slidablymounted for longitudinal movement along said lead below said piledriver; means for longitudinally moving said guiding device relative tosaid lead; and said pile guiding device having means for slidablyengaging a lower end portion of the pile adjacent to the selected spotwhereby upon upward movement of said guiding device, said guiding deviceslides longitudinally along the pile and progressively moves the pileinto alignment with said pile driver while the lower end of the pileremains at the selected spot.

2. In a pile driving apparatus as set forth in claim 1: said means forslidably engaging the pile comprising a pair of laterally closing,pivoted jaws which close on the pile and provide an opening larger thanthe pile shaped to slidably engage and guide the pile into alignmentwith said pile driver; and means for detachably securing said jaws inthe closed position.

3. In a pile driving apparatus as set forth in claim 1: said pileguiding device being movable to an intermediate position on the pileduring the driving thereof to stabilize the pile and reduce whip andbuckling thereof.

4. In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated, upright lead of skeletalframe construction having a pair of laterally spaced front corner framemembers; a pile driver disposed in front of said lead and longitudinallyslidably mounted on said corner frame members for driving a pile; meansfor suspending a pile adjacent to said lead in a position onlyapproximately aligned with said pile driver whereby the lower end of thepile can be positioned at a selected spot adjacent to the bottom of saidlead; a mechanical pile monkey longitudinally slidably mounted on saidcorner frame members below said pile driver; means for raising andlowering said pile monkey; and said pile monkey including means fordetachably slidably engaging a lower end portion of the pile adjacent tothe selected spot whereby upon upward movement of said pile monkey, saidpile monkey slides longitudinally along the pile and progressively movesthe pile into alignment with said pile driver while the lower end of thepile remains at the selected spot.

5. In a pile driving apparatus as set forth in claim 4: said means forslidably engaging the pile comprising a pair of laterally closing,pivoted jaws which close on the pile and provide an opening larger thanthe pile shaped to slidably engage and guide the pile into alignmentwith said pile driver; and means for detachably securing said jaws inthe closed position.

6, In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated, upright lead of skeletalframe construction having a pair of laterally spaced front corner framemembers; a pile driver disposed in front of said lead and longitudinallyslidably mounted on said corner frame members for driving a pile; meansfor suspending a pile adjacent to said lead in an upright positionwhereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at a selected spotadjacent to the bottom of said lead; a mechanical pile monkeylongitudinally slidably mounted on said corner frame members below saidpile driver; means for raising and lowering said pile monkey; said pilemonkey including means for detachably slidably engaging a lower endportion of the pile adjacent to the selected spot whereby upon upwardmovement of said pile monkey, the upper end of said pile is pulled intoalignment with said pile driver; pulley meaans mounted adjacent to thetop of said lead; and said means for raising and lowering said pilemonkey comprising a rope disposed over said pulley means and extendingdownwardly past said pile driver and connected to said pile monkey.

7. In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated, upright lead of skeletalframe construction having a pair of laterally spaced front corner framemembers; a pile driver disposed in front of said lead and longitudinallyslidably mounted on said corner frame members for driving a pile; meansfor suspending a pile adjacent to said lead in an upright positionwhereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at a selected spotadjacent to the bottom of said lead; a mechanical pile monkeylongitudinally slidably mounted on said corner frame members below saidpile driver; means for raising and lowering said pile monkey; said pilemonkey including means for detachably slidably engaging a lower endportion of the pile adjacent to the selected spot whereby upon upwardmovement of said pile monkey, the upper end of said pile is pulled intoalignment with said pile driver; pulley means mounted adjacent to thetop of said lead; and said means for suspending the pile comprising arope disposed over said pulley means and fastened to an upper endportion of the pile whereby the pile is normally tilted out of alignmentwith said pile driver prior to said pile monkey being moved upwardly.

8. In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated, upright lead; pulley meansmounted at the top of said lead; a pile driver slidably mounted on thefront of said lead and suspended from a rope passing over said pulleymeans; a pile rope disposed over said pulley means for suspending a piletherefrom whereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at aselected spot on the ground adjacent to the bottom of said lead;amechanical pile monkey longitudinally slidably mounted on the front ofsaid lead and suspended below said pile driver by another rope disposedover said pulley means; said pile monkey comprising a base slide memberslidably engaging the front of said lead; a pair of laterally closingpivoted jaws carried by and projecting forwardly from said base slidemember, said jaws adapted to close on a lower end portion of the pileand provide an opening shaped to slidably engage and guide the pilewhereby when the pile monkey is raised, the upper end of said pile ispulled into alignment with said pile driver, said pile monkey beingadapted to be disposed at an intermediate point on the pile during thedriving thereof to stabilize the pile and reduce whip and bucklingthereof.

9. A mechanical pile monkey for aligning a pile with a pile drivercarried by an elongated, -upright lead wherein the pile is initiallysuspended below the level of the pile driver out of alignment with saidpile driver and with its lower end resting on a selected spot adjacentto the bottom of the lead, said pile monkey comprising: a member havingmeans for slidably engaging the lead for movement longitudinallythereof; guiding means for detachably embracing the pile carried by saidmember and in one position thereof providing an opening larger than thepile shaped to slidably engage the pile, said member adapted to bemounted upon the lead below the pile driver with said guiding meansslidably engaging the pile adjacent to the bottom of the pile wherebysaid pile monkey can be raised and slid upwardly along the pile to pullthe pile progressively into alignment with the pile driver while thelower end of the pile remains on the selected spot.

10. A mechanical pile monkey for aligning a pile with a pile drivercarried by an elongated, upright lead wherein the pile is initiallysuspended below the level of the pile driver out of alignment with saidpile driver and with its lower end resting on a selected spot adjacentto the bottom of the lead, said pile monkey comprising: a base slidemember; a pair of laterally closing jaws pivotally mounted on said slidemember which when closed provide an opening larger than the pile andshaped to slidably engage the pile; means for detachably securing saidjaws in the closed position; said base slide member adapted to beslidably mounted upon the lead below the pile driver and said jawsadapted to slidably engage the pile adjacent to the bottom thereof withsaid jaws secured in closed. position whereby said pile monkey can beraised and slid upwardly along the pile to pull the pile progressivelyinto alignment with the pile driver while the lower end of the pileremains on the selected spot.

11. In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated upright lead of fixedlength in use thereof; a pile driver longitudinally slidably mountedupon said lead for driving a pile; means for placing a pile adjacent tosaid lead in a generally upright position normally out of alignment withsaid pile driver whereby the lower end of the pile selected spot wherebyupon upward movement of said guiding device, said guiding device slideslongitudinally along the pile and progressively moves the pile intoalignment with said pile driver while the lower end of the pile remainsat the selected spot.

1. In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated upright lead; a pile driverlongitudinally slidably mounted upon said lead for driving a pile; meansfor placing a pile adjacent to said lead in a generally upright positionwhereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at a selected spotadjacent to the bottom of said lead; a pile guiding device slidablymounted for longitudinal movement along said lead below said piledriver; means for longitudinally moving said guiding device relative tosaid lead; and said pile guiding device having means for slidablyengaging a lower end portion of the pile adjacent to the selected spotwhereby upon upward movement of said guiding device, said guiding deviceslides longitudinally along the pile and progressively moves the pileinto alignment with said pile driver while the lower end of the pileremains at the selected spot.
 2. In a pile driving apparatus as setforth in claim 1: said means for slidably engaging the pile comprising apair of laterally closing, pivoted jaws which close on the pile andprovide an opening larger than the pile shaped to slidably engage andguide the pile into alignment with said pile driver; and means fordetachably securing said jaws in the closed position.
 3. In a piledriving apparatus as set forth in claim 1: said pile guiding devicebeing movable to an intermediate position on the pile during the drivingthereof to stabilize the pile and reduce whip and buckling thereof. 4.In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated, upright lead of skeletalframe construction having a pair of laterally spaced front corner framemembers; a pile driver disposed in front of said lead and longitudinallyslidably mounted on said corner frame members for driving a pile; meansfor suspending a pile adjacent to said lead in a position onlyapproximately aligned with said pile driver whereby the lower end of thepile can be positioned at a selected spot adjacent to the bottom of saidlead; a mechanical pile monkey longitudinally slidably mounted on saidcorner frame members below said pile driver; means for raising andlowering said pile monkey; and said pile monkey including means fordetachably slidably engaging a lower end portion of the pile adjacent tothe selected spot whereby upon upward movement of said pile monkey, saidpile monkey slides longitudinally along the pile and progressively movesthe pile into alignment with said pile driver while the lower end of thepile remains at the selected spot.
 5. In a pile driving apparatus as setforth in claim 4: said means for slidably engaging the pile comprising apaiR of laterally closing, pivoted jaws which close on the pile andprovide an opening larger than the pile shaped to slidably engage andguide the pile into alignment with said pile driver; and means fordetachably securing said jaws in the closed position.
 6. In a piledriving apparatus: an longated, upright lead of skeletal frameconstruction having a pair of laterally spaced front corner framemembers; a pile driver disposed in front of said lead and longitudinallyslidably mounted on said corner frame members for driving a pile; meansfor suspending a pile adjacent to said lead in an upright positionwhereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at a selected spotadjacent to the bottom of said lead; a mechanical pile monkeylongitudinally slidably mounted on said corner frame members below saidpile driver; means for raising and lowering said pile monkey; said pilemonkey including means for detachably slidably engaging a lower endportion of the pile adjacent to the selected spot whereby upon upwardmovement of said pile monkey, the upper end of said pile is pulled intoalignment with said pile driver; pulley meaans mounted adjacent to thetop of said lead; and said means for raising and lowering said pilemonkey comprising a rope disposed over said pulley means and extendingdownwardly past said pile driver and connected to said pile monkey. 7.In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated, upright lead of skeletalframe construction having a pair of laterally spaced front corner framemembers; a pile driver disposed in front of said lead and longitudinallyslidably mounted on said corner frame members for driving a pile; meansfor suspending a pile adjacent to said lead in an upright positionwhereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at a selected spotadjacent to the bottom of said lead; a mechanical pile monkeylongitudinally slidably mounted on said corner frame members below saidpile driver; means for raising and lowering said pile monkey; said pilemonkey including means for detachably slidably engaging a lower endportion of the pile adjacent to the selected spot whereby upon upwardmovement of said pile monkey, the upper end of said pile is pulled intoalignment with said pile driver; pulley means mounted adjacent to thetop of said lead; and said means for suspending the pile comprising arope disposed over said pulley means and fastened to an upper endportion of the pile whereby the pile is normally tilted out of alignmentwith said pile driver prior to said pile monkey being moved upwardly. 8.In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated, upright lead; pulley meansmounted at the top of said lead; a pile driver slidably mounted on thefront of said lead and suspended from a rope passing over said pulleymeans; a pile rope disposed over said pulley means for suspending a piletherefrom whereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at aselected spot on the ground adjacent to the bottom of said lead; amechanical pile monkey longitudinally slidably mounted on the front ofsaid lead and suspended below said pile driver by another rope disposedover said pulley means; said pile monkey comprising a base slide memberslidably engaging the front of said lead; a pair of laterally closingpivoted jaws carried by and projecting forwardly from said base slidemember, said jaws adapted to close on a lower end portion of the pileand provide an opening shaped to slidably engage and guide the pilewhereby when the pile monkey is raised, the upper end of said pile ispulled into alignment with said pile driver, said pile monkey beingadapted to be disposed at an intermediate point on the pile during thedriving thereof to stabilize the pile and reduce whip and bucklingthereof.
 9. A mechanical pile monkey for aligning a pile with a piledriver carried by an elongated, upright lead wherein the pile isinitially suspended below the level of the pile driver out of alignmentwith said pile driver and with its lower end resting on a selected spotadjacent tO the bottom of the lead, said pile monkey comprising: amember having means for slidably engaging the lead for movementlongitudinally thereof; guiding means for detachably embracing the pilecarried by said member and in one position thereof providing an openinglarger than the pile shaped to slidably engage the pile, said memberadapted to be mounted upon the lead below the pile driver with saidguiding means slidably engaging the pile adjacent to the bottom of thepile whereby said pile monkey can be raised and slid upwardly along thepile to pull the pile progressively into alignment with the pile driverwhile the lower end of the pile remains on the selected spot.
 10. Amechanical pile monkey for aligning a pile with a pile driver carried byan elongated, upright lead wherein the pile is initially suspended belowthe level of the pile driver out of alignment with said pile driver andwith its lower end resting on a selected spot adjacent to the bottom ofthe lead, said pile monkey comprising: a base slide member; a pair oflaterally closing jaws pivotally mounted on said slide member which whenclosed provide an opening larger than the pile and shaped to slidablyengage the pile; means for detachably securing said jaws in the closedposition; said base slide member adapted to be slidably mounted upon thelead below the pile driver and said jaws adapted to slidably engage thepile adjacent to the bottom thereof with said jaws secured in closedposition whereby said pile monkey can be raised and slid upwardly alongthe pile to pull the pile progressively into alignment with the piledriver while the lower end of the pile remains on the selected spot. 11.In a pile driving apparatus: an elongated upright lead of fixed lengthin use thereof; a pile driver longitudinally slidably mounted upon saidlead for driving a pile; means for placing a pile adjacent to said leadin a generally upright position normally out of alignment with said piledriver whereby the lower end of the pile can be positioned at a selectedspot adjacent to the bottom of said lead; a pile guiding device slidablymounted for longitudinal movement along said lead separately from andbelow said pile driver; means for longitudinally moving said guidingdevice relative to said lead; said pile guiding device havinng means forslidably engaging a lower end portion of the pile adjacent to theselected spot whereby upon upward movement of said guiding device, saidguiding device slides longitudinally along the pile and progressivelymoves the pile into alignment with said pile driver while the lower endof the pile remains at the selected spot.